Pathfinder Adventure Path: Iron Gods Part 1 Fires of Creation

[haldir 18259]

Pathfinder Adventure Path: Iron Gods

Part 1: Fires of Creation

by Neil Spicer

 

Paizo Publishing, LLC

7120 185th Ave NE, Ste 120

Redmond, WA 98052-0577

 

Paizo.com

 

Players

ShadowRaven: Abrien Variel Male elf rogue

Cranky Dog: Ralif Ulik Male dwarf inquisitor of Brigh

Vil-hatarn: Anton (EnT1) Male android occultist

Qwiksiver: Davril Steelfarmer Male gnome Bard (archaeologist)

Davor: Sartus Parda

 

Current date:

Neth 27th (Starday) 4714

 

Torch

Map (ignore the yellow triangle)

 

Torch is an unusual town in central Numeria that sits in a crescent around a bizarre, black hillock of shiny black stone known as Torch Hill. Atop the hill is the town's namesake, a brilliant purple bonfire that occasionally explodes into a devastating miles-high pillar of flame.

 

One of the brilliant flare ups in progress!!

 

More info about Torch can be found in the Iron Gods Players Guide found on paizo.com

 

The reason why the party finds itself in the town is the mysterious flame has gone out!! Where a constant purple bonfire burned on top of Torch Hill now sits a blackened hole with mysterious black bubbling liquid at the bottom. While the flame has gone out before, not for such a long period of time, only for a couple days at the most. This has caused the town council concern due to without the flame the town doesn't prosper as metal-smiths come from far & near to use the flame which in turn brings wealth to the city. Even more concerning is without the flame, the Technic League may take more of a interest in Torch. Not that is doesn't tax it enough. It just doesn't have a permanent post in the town.

 

Anther concerning factor is one of the beloved town councilman has gone missing! Khonnir Baine

 

Khonnir Baine is of Kellid decent & of brilliant mind. The man came to Torch a few years ago, with his daughter Val. Since then the town has come to love the man & his ideas. One of his greatest achievements is the purification system, Crowfeather Palace. The building is responsible for removing most of the contaminants from the polluted Weeping Pond, most of the town water source. He went missing a week ago & without the flame to remove most of the refuse & garbage of the town & without the man's brilliant ideas the town is at a lost for ideas. Khonnir went missing the 2nd expedition into the newly discovered caves under Black Hill.

 

What has the citizens concerned about caves is what Khonnir brought out on his first expedition into them. A automaton.  While is inactive & in dis-repair, the presence of such a thing in the town has allot of the citizen on edge. Also what might else be under the Hill? Worst case scenario is there are worst automatons, such as ones that fully active & are programmed to kill humans.

 

The party has been together only a short time, coming together for common causes & agendas. Also the town council has offered a cash reward of 4,000 gold pieces for the recovery of Khonnir's body. If the beloved wizard can be returned alive, the town will throw in a scroll of resurrection as well. (They are holding onto this just is case......)

[ShadowRaven 54416]

The same thoughtful look had been upon the elf's face since the offer from the council. The absent flame, and the missing wizard together caused him much to ponder upon. It did not really take much to piece together the possible reasoning for both. Something, or someone was effecting things beneath the town, and he held strong suspicions that there was only one group who would benefit from this. Even if they where not responsible for his brothers disappearance, he would suspect Technic League treachery. All the more with the wizard vanishing down there now as well. Though he had never taken an interest in the arcane himself, no elf of Kyonin would believe a competent and prepared wizard, even a human one, would run into troubles they could not extricate themselves from, without interference. That meant of course one thing, to find answers they would have to venture into the caves themselves.

[Cranky Dog 18697]

The lost of such a brilliant man is tragic. He was a splendid example of Brigh's ideals.

 

Ever since the discovery of the caves and the loss of the flame, Ralif has been worried about a rise in raiders and scavengers, especially since Baine's findings in his first expedition. He should have gone with them! Humans are out of their element underground. An underground accident, treachery within Baine's associates, or a raiding party for Technic Leaguers who settled in the caves between expeditions are likely possibilities. Or perhaps something else was there all along that wasn't meant to be found. Similar tales have surrounded Silver Mount and many other settlements for centuries, and that automaton may have more mysteries surrounding it than expected.

 

We must go to those caves!

Edited November 30, 2014 by Cranky Dog

[Qwyksilver 16614]

Darvil had only been in Torch for 6 months, but he had already felt like he had found a new home.  Sure it was kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but there was so many places to explore out here.  And even better, it was far away from the Technic League, who just have to go and ruin a guy's fun by stealing anything he finds, and Gods forbid he accidentally manages to get one working again and it blasts a hole in a wall.  Best of all, just two months ago, Khonnir Baine had offered him an apprenticeship!  All it took was showing up to his workshop almost every day for a couple weeks with new things.  The guy was an absolute genius when it came to all those shiny toys people keep bringing up from underground.  And now he was willing to help Darvil learn how to find, repair, and maybe even create his own machines.  "You've got a knack, I will give you that.  And you're certainly persistent.  You're not going to quit on a challenging problem.  One of these days though, that luck is going to run out.  You're good enough to be dangerous, and you certainly don't have the sense to stop.  So you don't blow yourself and half the city up while you're at it, I suppose, yes, I will train you."  That meant Khonnir really cared about him!  Khonnir didn't really want Darvil down in the depths of Black Hill yet, because "blah blah follow directions" and "blah blah touch something dangerous."  It's really hard not to be excited about these discoveries.

 

So when the Town Council said they wanted people to go into Black Hill, Darvil leapt at the chance.  It wasn't a hard choice.  Get to explore the depths of Black Hill!  Get paid to do it (bonus!).  Solve the mystery of the extinguished Torch (hero! genius!). Rescue Khonnir (your mentor) and become a hero (super bonus)!  Have a chance to thumb your nose at the Technic League (yes!).

 

Before the Town Council had even finished reading their statement looking for volunteers, you had walked to the front of the hall and tried to sign up.  To hell with all that Parliamentary Procedure.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Qwyksilver

[Vil-hatarn 1614]

Awakened a mere two weeks previously with no memories save a series of letters and numbers he believes to be his name, EnT1 stumbled into Torch last week lost, hungry, and disoriented, though with a strange sense that this was where he was supposed to be. Fortunately, Khonnir Baine was one of the first to spot him, and though preoccupied with the extinguished flame, he quickly identified EnT1 as an android and briefly took him in. He explained the prejudices held by many against mechanical beings and the basics of life in Torch, and suggested EnT1 lay low until he returned from the second expedition. Seven days later, "Anton" has determined that he is not very good at "laying low"; while he's attempted to cover most of his identifying tattoos, his inexperience with, well, everything, and his oddly accented Hallit have marked him as an outsider, though his true nature has yet to be discovered by the public. Concerned by increasing hostility towards the deactivated automaton, he quietly made himself known to the group mounting the latest expedition.

[Cranky Dog 18697]

Ralif was a familiar presence to followers of Brigh and to all the smiths of the purple flame, walking around with his blacksmiths' hammer keeping a watchful eye on all the forges, scolding those who did not maintain their equipment. A well maintained forge is a safe and efficient one. He preferred toolmakers and blacksmiths than weapon and armor smiths. Though he could appreciate the usefulness and workmanship of a well made weapon and armor, he disliked them as tools of destruction and not creation. He is often seen fingering his symbol of Brigh that he forged himself of all the skymetals he could afford, a twelve pronged cogwheel, with six pairs of opposing teeth made of each of the colored skymetals on a black adamantine back.

 

Ralif didn't really need the reward, as he already resided with his Brighian(?) brethren and share the communal forge and workshop, but he did long for his own set of tools and forge. Human sized tools never felt quite right in his hands.

 

Going to offer his services to the council, he and everyone the vicinity noticed the excited gnome volunteer. "Oh no, not him!" Ralif told himself. How Khonnir Baine could tolerate his presence for more than five minutes was beyond him. That gnome can't stand still, always putting his nose in everyone's work. And the constant yammering, always asking questions, commenting our choices, and most annoying of all, pointing out our mistakes before we could fix them. Ralif could appreciate the inquisitive mind and his knack with the unusual tools everyone keeps creating, but his discipline left to be desired.

 

Like many followers of Brigh, Ralif wasn't afraid of the android but wasn't sure how to approach it (him?), leaving it to the care of Khonnir Blaine. He even wondered if the android would ever come out since Blaine's disappearance. Many craftsmen believe a part of their soul resides in any of their creations. And to followers of Brigh, like a parent believes a part of himself lives on in his child, to a craftsman androids are the fullest realization of this belief. No Brighian is foolish enough to directly ask Brigh for the secrets of life, for as our ancestors paved the way for our wondrous modern creations, the secret of imbuing life through the "Craft" will be for our descendants with the knowledge we discover today by ourselves. No need of the binding magics of a foreign soul into constructs. All of the ruins since Starfall show what the "Craft" will one day achieve the creation of new souls by the hands of mortals.

[haldir 18259]

(note: the automaton that Khonnir found under the Black Hill isn't EnT1, something totally different). 

 

(Also everyone roll a D20)

 

Darvil,

 

Since you were the closest to Khonnir, you know his daughter Val the most. She is Khellid like Khonnir but although he calls her his daughter you can tell she isn't blood related. The young girl has been studying & try to learn art of magic & technology but she is young & easily fustrated. She hasn't given up thou!!

 

EnT1

Even thou you have just "awoken" Khonnir wanted you feel & learn the world & let you go into the world. He set you up at a local inn, Evercandle Inn but the room & board runs out today. Thus you need to either find a new place or try & do something like help find the man that helped you. There are other androids in Torch so the town doesn't react liked they've never seen or heard of androids, they do feel a bit uneasy around you thou.

 

 

The party heads to the Town Hall (area 15 on the map) to talk to the council about what needs to be done to help find Khonnir Bane. The council consists of 5 men & women. Bazlundi Otterbie is currently working with Joram Kyte to coordinate tending to Torch’s growing problem of waste disposal, while Soceal Murgrave is at home nursing a splitting headache (the third in as many days). And Khonnir Baine, of course, is missing. The only person available is old female dwarf named Dolga Freddert.

 

She is at table, pouring over some papers when she looks up & with a expert eye she says "Ahhhh adventurers! I think I know why you are here!" The old dwarf gets up & shakes everyone's hand. You can see while she is old, her arms are still muscular & are covered in old scars. She offers everyone a seat at the table.

[Vil-hatarn 1614]

EnT1 carefully considered his options the morning Baine's funding ran out. He has a few coins left, but only enough for another week at most, and he has thus far failed to develop any worthwhile contacts or relationships due to his awkward personal manner and limited, though rapidly improving, grasp of Hallit. His only notable achievement was discovering by accident that several of his possessions have unusual properties that he can manipulate using his internal nanites, but applications thereof appear to be limited to self-defense and lighting things on fire. Observation suggests that he is significantly stronger and faster than the average inhabitant of the town. Further, he has felt drawn to the extinguished flame since arriving in Torch, experiencing a feeling that the humans would call...'curiosity'? not quite, but closer than anything else...and staying away only out of respect for Khonnir's wishes. In an instant, his decision has been made; he needs to find his benefactor for additional guidance, and what skills he has appear to be ideally suited for delving into the mysterious depths of Black Hill.

 

EnT1 briefly hesitates when Dolga offers her hand, then remembers Khonnir's explanation of the custom and shakes her hand. He seats himself quietly, allowing others to lead the discussion.

[Cranky Dog 18697]

"Isn't that the elf from the pottery?!" as Ralif sees Adrien. Elves were uncommon enough in Torch, and he remembered seeing that one working at one of the kilns of the purple flame and his grumblings against the Technic League each month they came to collect their tithes. But he never expected to see him dressed like this!

 

"I don't see myself as an adventurer m'am. But by Brigh, we have a duty to Baine and to Torch to find him. His filtration system is still not fully understood by all and by the looks of it, we can't maintain it."

 

Shaking the hand of the old woman, she clearly had the marks of forge worker. Ralif felt a little embarrassed in not knowing who this elderly dwarf was. The local Clockfather may know of her, but Ralif was so focused on the young workers around him that he realizes he neglected to recognize the artisans who may have retired.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Cranky Dog

[ShadowRaven 54416]

"I have worked at the kilns a bit since my arrival, yes. Even here, there are masters to learn from, though that is not the reason I traveled  to this place" For a brief moment he frowned and cast his gaze somewhere seemingly looking beyond the room before speaking again "I was in Torch to learn certain things already, and now I suspect I shall learn more investigating beneath the hill."

[Vil-hatarn 1614]

In a brief pause, EnT1 speaks up. "You may already know this" (directed at Dolga), "but I overheard travelers at the Evercandle this morning mention ratfolk bandits on the eastern roads. There is some chance their activity and Baine's disappearance could be linked. We should proceed with caution if our intent is, as I believe it to be, to seek out Master Baine in the ruins."

[ShadowRaven 54416]

"Ratkin hmm?" The elf said quietly, nodding. He doubted of course that such could be responsible for the fires disappearance, but they could be trouble enough to be responsible for the wizards dissaperance. Even if not, they could be just one more hurdle in coming to answers. Listening he let a part of his mind wander to what his mentor said of ratfolk in his lessons. 'Careful, they bite' all he could come up with but then, he said the same about dwarves.

[Qwyksilver 16614]

Darvil grins, "Hey Dolga!  Of course I'm going to go find Khonnir!  He probably just found something really cool down there under Black Hill and forgot about all of us up here in Torch.  We'll probably find him hunkered over a pile of starmetal and wires shooting sparks.  Hope he hurries up and gets back soon.  I've been hearing folks complaining about headaches and blaming Crowfeather.  If something's gone busted in there, maybe me and Val can use Khonnir's notes to fix it.  It might help her take her mind off her dad wandering off and forgetting about us."

[Cranky Dog 18697]

"Vermin ratfolk raiding parties ain't nothing new 'round here. If they're really a bother, even the Technic League'll go after them. What I don't like is what I heard from the smelters in the boarding houses.  They say they saw one of them poison flying lizards... what's it called... not a dragon..."

 

"A wyvern! It's a wyvern! Am I right? A wyvern?" exclaimed Darvil enthusiastically looking a Ralif for confirmation.

 

Ralif sighed a grunt. "A wyvern yes. With some sort of machine sticking out of its chest a day’s ride west of Torch."

[Qwyksilver 16614]

"Vermin ratfolk raiding parties ain't nothing new 'round here. If they're really a bother, even the Technic League'll go after them. What I don't like is what I heard from the smelters in the boarding houses.  They say they saw one of them poison flying lizards... what's it called...

Darvil appears like he is ready to explode with an answer…

 

not a dragon…"

Darvil bites his lip and clenches his fists in frustration.

Through clenched teeth you can faintly hear him mutter in Gnomish, "I was going to say a dragon."

 

[OOC] You need a Knowledge (Arcana) check of 16+ just to know it's a wyvern (minimum 10+CR), potentially more since it's a rare critter.  Darvil only has a +3 mod to Knowledge (Arcana) checks at the moment, and I rolled a 10. [/OOC]